Today is Father’s Day. The nation’s first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1972—58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official—that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday in the United States.
On July 5, 1908, a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly in honor of fathers, a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, but it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday.
The next year, a Spokane, Washington, woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.
**But if the truth about a holiday is that we acknowledge the value and worth of something or someone, or a type of individual then both mother’s day and fathers day were established in principle by God many years ago:
Ephesians 6:2-3
2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Exodus 20:12
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
***This morning as I was waking up if felt the Lord impress in my spirit to share a message with you about fathers, fatherhood, and the character of a father but specifically about the our Father God and his relationship with his children.
***The 1st point of the Message today is: God’s first and assignment to mankind was to be a father.
Turn with me to the beginning in Genesis Chapter 1:26-31
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
***Of all the 1st in the bible fatherhood is the most profound. God did not tell man to go and build something. God did not tell man to go and grow something. God did not tell man to go and learn something. God told man to be a father. God said I created you in my image and in my likeness and I want you to be like me and be a father. Men listen to me today. Your highest calling and success in this life is not how much money you make, not how big your house is, not what you build, craft or create. Your highest calling and ministry is to be a Father!
***Paul explains to us that Fatherhood is more than just procreation. There are many male humans that have pro-created with a female human and that does not make them a father. There are many male humans who have never pro-created with a female human and they are fathers to many humans. Listen to the way Paul describes fatherhood as he is instructing the Church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 4:14-17
14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
***The 1st point of the Message today is: God’s first and assignment to mankind was to be a father.
*** The 2nd point of the Message today: Fatherhood is more about relationship and ministry than biological pro-creation.
I want to spend a few minutes this morning hearing what Jesus had to say about fathers and looking at Jesus relationship with children.
I am reading the book of Mathew and this past week I arrived in my daily reading in Matthew 18. Let’s go there together now:
Matthew 18:1-14
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
*** In this passage of scripture, we can see into the heart of Jesus and the Father God about how they value children both biological and spiritual.
The disciples ask the question: Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Jesus looks around. He sees scribes, religious rulers, he sees mothers, fathers, fishermen, farmers. It is very likely that Jesus could have chosen from about most any kind of person or individual from the represented crowd but he sees a child and calls them. 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Jesus proceeds to tell them you have to be like this little child you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
But Jesus does not stop here. He keeps on explaining in verse 5 and 6 our relationship with Jesus and the Father God is how we treat a Child.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
***The 1st point of the Message today is: God’s first and assignment to mankind was to be a father.
*** The 2nd point of the Message today: Fatherhood is more about relationship and ministry than biological pro-creation.
***The 3rd point of the Message today: Your relationship with your Heavenly Father is measured by how you treat earthly children.
It is a power image to think about what Jesus says in verse #10
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Each one of the little ones has angels standing in the presence of God to make sure the Father God is up to date on what is happening in their lives and I am sure God takes action to help them.
***The 4th point of the Message today: God gives special care and attention to little children (both physical and spiritual)
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Before we go to our last point and conclude the service today, I want to briefly touch on the next chapter in Matthew 19
Matthew 19:1-15
19 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is beyond the Jordan;
2 And great throngs accompanied Him, and He cured them there.
3 And Pharisees came to Him and put Him to the test by asking, Is it lawful and right to dismiss and repudiate and divorce one’s wife for any and [a]every cause?
4 He replied, Have you never read that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united firmly (joined inseparably) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder (separate).
7 They said to Him, Why then did Moses command [us] to give a certificate of divorce and thus to dismiss and repudiate a wife?
8 He said to them, Because of the hardness (stubbornness and perversity) of your hearts Moses permitted you to dismiss and repudiate and divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been [b]so [ordained].
9 I say to you: whoever dismisses (repudiates, divorces) his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery, [c]and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
10 The disciples said to Him, If the case of a man with his wife is like this, it is neither profitable nor advisable to marry.
11 But He said to them, Not all men can accept this saying, but it is for those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given.
12 For there are eunuchs who have been born incapable of marriage; and there are eunuchs who have been made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves incapable of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to accept this accept it.
13 Then little children were brought to Jesus, that He might put His hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But He said, Leave the children alone! Allow the little ones to come to Me, and do not forbid or restrain or hinder them, for of such [as these] is the kingdom of heaven composed.
15 And He put His hands upon them, and then went on His way.
***There are men in here today or listening online that will never get married and or never have the opportunity to be a biological father but that does not in any way prevent you from being a father in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the little ones that God brings across your path for you to teach, mentor, and minister to.
***The 1st point of the Message today is: God’s first and assignment to mankind was to be a father.
*** The 2nd point of the Message today: Fatherhood is more about relationship and ministry than biological pro-creation.
***The 3rd point of the Message today: Your relationship with your Heavenly Father is measured by how you treat earthly children.
***The 4th point of the Message today: God gives special care and attention to little children (both physical and spiritual)
In Closing today I want to shift a little bit to how we all as children of our Father God interact with him.
Luke 11:9-13
King James Version
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
***The 5th and Closing point of the Message today: Our confidence in relationship with our Father God is his blessing and correction.
Hebrews 12:6-11
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].
9 Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?
10 For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.
11 For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
Malachi 1:6
King James Version
6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
***The 1st point of the Message today is: God’s first and assignment to mankind was to be a father.
*** The 2nd point of the Message today: Fatherhood is more about relationship and ministry than biological pro-creation.
***The 3rd point of the Message today: Your relationship with your Heavenly Father is measured by how you treat earthly children.
***The 4th point of the Message today: God gives special care and attention to little children (both physical and spiritual)
***The 5th and Closing point of the Message today: Our confidence in relationship with our Father God is his blessing and correction.